Eat this, Don't Eat that. And Read your Bible.

Sometimes I get a lot of pushback for talking to much about my keto diet.  Lets start with the definition of diet, the types of foods that a person, animal or community generally eat.  That's the number one definition of diet.  Most people think about slim fast, weight watchers, dry chicken, low fat yogurt, and some type of God knows what shake.  Keto is most definitely not that.

Remember though, I'm not a doctor.  This is just information I've gathered over 6 months of reading about Keto diets and nutrition and listening to over 400 hours of podcasts on the topic.  I still could be wrong though.

Some people say it's crazy to not eat carbs.  I say it's no more crazy the need to take medication so you can continue to eat a diet that is not good for you.  That's what insulin is.  But before I go to far down that rabbit hole, I'll stop.  I'm not saying everyone needs keto.  Lots of people can eat a healthy, balanced diet that works for them to help keep them healthy.  And I'm not talking simply about weight and appearance.  But the health of everything inside your body like organs.

So what does a healthy diet look like if you aren't eating Keto?  For me, when I decided enough was enough I weighed in at over 220 and was making VERY poor food choices basically eating whatever and whenever I wanted I would have to consume 55g of fat a day, 181g of protein, and 193g of carbohydrate. This is a diet to lose weight being lightly active.  This is only a 2000 calorie diet.  I don't think I could actually do that and enjoy the foods and amounts of it that I had to eat to get healthy and lose weight.  How do I know this? I've lost and regained about 75 pounds doing diets this way.  Here is the macro calculator I used for this. 

If you think you are eating fine and healthy, I highly recommend tracking your macronutrients to see how they add up.

I don't go off diet for a cheat meal.
I don't need to.  Not because I'm strict,
but because of the foods you are allowed
to eat on a keto diet are so good. 

Food is hard.  So much of it is so good.  I get it.  Why couldn't I follow a "regular" diet?  I've been addicted and have an unhealthy relationship with food.  And in some cases, I still do.  So don't ever think I'm being preachy or judging.  I'm not.  Me saying "I'm better for doing these things" is NOT the same as me saying "I'm better than you because I do these things".  Never.  I don't think I'm better than anyone else.

So what did I have to eat on Keto?  Here is a good Keto Macro Calculator. This is when I started...200g of fat, 99g of protein and 20g or less of Carbohydrates.  I rarely reached my fat mark and lost 20 pounds the first month of eating this way. I've lost 35 pounds within two months and have been able to maintain that eating what I want, when I want it.  I found what works for me.  Now I'm onto the next phase....losing another twenty pounds.

So...to recap.  It's not about Keto.  It's about eating the right foods AND the proper amounts.  Do it for a few days.  Download an app like My Fitness Pal or Carb Manager and see what the macronutrient amounts are that you are eating.  Track EVERYTHING that has calories.  Don't worry about tracking your exercise as well.  You already adjusted your numbers for your activity level.

I forgot about the bible part.  I'll do that tomorrow.